Feelings for a Pharaoh
by Akira Mizuki
Summary: The Pharaoh Atemu is sent to present day Japan via a mysterious portal and meets a girl named Akira and her friend Ryuu, who are trying to find a way to send him back to Ancient Egypt. Slowly he and Akira learn what it means to truly love.Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

"Hoe!" Akira halted her big gray stallion and watched in awe a bright, eerie light shining in front of her. She had seen a light like this before, many years ago. She tried to forget that day. The light grew more intense, and Akira's horse, Ghost, shied nervously. She calmed him with her voice and a gentle pat on the neck. The light became blinding for a moment, then faded. Akira saw a tall figure where the light had been. He gave a low groan as his knees buckled and he began to fall. Akira slid off her horse and caught him just before he hit the ground. She studied the unconscious boy in her arms. He looked about eighteen years old. He was tan and muscular, and had black, red, and blonde spiky hair. But the strangest thing about him was that he was dressed like Egyptian royalty. He wore a white and blue tunic and a blue cape. Gold bands wrapped around his arms and legs, and he wore a pyramid- shaped pendant with strange inscriptions around his neck. The boy groaned again, and Akira eased him onto Ghost's saddle before mounting and cantering off to her farmhouse.

Akira carried the boy through the front door and gently set him on her couch. She walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. A girl's voice answered on the fourth ring. "Akira?" The voice asked. "Hiya, Ryuu!" Akira said. "I had a very weird day today." "You think _you_ had a weird day? I had to go to Shigure's house today. And he was wearing a _suit_!" Ryuu laughed.

"There's a pharaoh laying on my couch." Akira replied.

"A _PHARAOH_?" Ryuu exclaimed, shocked. "Well, I think he's a pharaoh. He's dressed like one." "Can I come see him?" Ryuu asked. "Yeah, sure. Man, is he fine!" Akira said before hanging up.

Twenty minutes later, Ryuu and Akira stood by the couch, gawking at the mysterious boy. "Is he dead?" Ryuu asked, reaching out her hand to check his pulse. Akira slapped it away. "Don't touch him!" she yelled. The boy shifted uncomfortably and groaned as he sat up, rubbing his forehead as if it pained him. "Where am I? And who are you?" he exclaimed. His voice was deep and smooth, but there was panic in his violet eyes. "Well, as an answer to the first question, you're on my couch." Akira said. "And for your second question, my name is Akira, and this is Ryuu." She said, pointing at Ryuu. "And who are you?" she asked him. "My name is Atemu. I am Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt. Why am I here? Take me back at once!" he ordered. Akira and Ryuu averted their gazes. "What's wrong?" Atemu asked in alarm. "We-eel…"Akira started. "First of all, you're a long way from Egypt." Atemu's large eyes widened. "Second of all, what was the year before you woke up here?" "It was 0093 B.C. Why?" he asked. Now Akira's eyes widened and Ryuu clapped a hand to her mouth. "Why are you doing that?" Atemu asked. He sounded nervous. "Um… Atemu?" Akira stammered. "You… this is the year 2007. _A.D._" Atemu gasped and almost fell off the couch. He stood up and leaned on Akira's shoulder for support. She blushed bright red. "I've been sleeping for _three thousand years_?" Atemu began to panic. "What will I do? No one will know who I am or even that I still exist! Where will I go? How will I live? I don't know anything about this place or this time!" He fell back onto the couch and started sobbing. "Please don't cry, Atemu!" Ryuu shouted. "Actually, you were only sleeping for about half an hour." She said. "I saw a weird light, and when it was gone you were standing in front of me." Akira said gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, tears streaming down his tan face. Akira turned to Ryuu, who was staring at her as if she had three heads. "It looked just like the portal that sent me here." Ryuu looked shocked. "But that would mean…" "SHHH!" Akira whispered. "What are you shushing at?" Atemu asked. "I have a right to know!" "Atemu…" Akira faltered. She sat down next to him. "It… it may be a long time… before I can send you home again." Atemu gasped and started sobbing again. (a.n. - Wouldn't you be sobbing too if you were halfway around the world and three thousand years from home? I thought so.) Akira wrapped her arms around his shaking shoulders and looked up at Ryuu. "Should I tell him?" Ryuu nodded. "It might help."

"Atemu." Akira said softly. Atemu stopped crying and looked up. "Atemu, watch me closely." She stood up and closed her eyes. Much to Atemu's astonishment, tendrils of sparkling white light rose out of the floor and spiraled up Akira's body. When the light burst, she looked completely different. Her skin was almost as tanned as his. Her waist-length blonde hair had been replaced by silver hair that reached almost to the ground. Her wide green eyes had become slanted, like a cat's, and her eyebrows thinner and more arched. She was clothed in a tunic of a brown fabric that Atemu didn't recognize, and a tattered green overlay hung from her pocket-filled belt. She carried a bag from the same material as her tunic, and it hung from her waist. An unstrung bow was strapped to her back, with a quiver of arrows beside it. But the strangest thing was that she had pointed ears, and four silvery wings protruded from her back. Atemu gaped in shock at this new appearance and also at the fact that Ryuu didn't seem as surprised as he was. Akira smiled grimly at him. "I am a fairy."


	2. Chapter 2

Atem didn't know what to do. This was all too much for him. His head ached terribly. It felt so overwhelming facing almost certain death at the hands of a maniacal thief king, then seeing a strange light and passing out only to awaken in a strange house with strange people in a time and place worlds away from his own, and, to top it all off, he was faced with a magical being standing right in front of him! _In the name of Ra_, he thought, _please stop this madness!_ He raised his head to see Ryuu eye-to-eye with him, a quizzical look on her face. "Did Akira scare you?" Atem glanced at Akira and whispered timidly, "A…a bit…" Ryuu immediately stood up and hit Akira upside the head. "Akira, you baka-dummkoff! You're so mean! Look at him, he's terrified!" Akira gazed at him apologetically. "Uh…sorry, Atem, I didn't want to scare you. I thought maybe it might help if you knew I could maybe figure out a way to send you home." Atem had began to sob again. "Please, Atem, calm down. Do you want something to drink?" Akira asked gently. _He must be thirsty with all that crying,_ she thought. Atem nodded. "Ryuu, could you get him some water?" Ryuu took one look and dashed to the kitchen. Akira sat down next to Atem. "Should I tell you how I got here?" she asked him. "It couldn't hurt." he responded. He seemed to be getting over the shock. Akira could see fire returning to his eyes. "Alright." Akira signed. "I was born 218 years age in a world called Alagaësia. It's on this planet, just kind of, well…a different…world. It's complicated. Anyway," she grinned sheepishly, "I can't explain it. My mother was a fairy by the name of Reyanna. My father…" she trailed off. "I sure you know of him. He is Anubis." Atem gasped and looked at Akira with a strange expression in his eyes. Awe, respect, and fear. "Please don't be afraid of me, Atem." Akira said. She took his hand, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please, just listen to me. I also have a twin sister, although we couldn't be more different. But I'll tell you about her later. I was born, along with my sister, in the capital city, Ellesméra, of a part of Alagaësia called Du Weldenvarden. It was completely inhabited by elves, and fairies like me. It was so beautiful—much more so than any of the places I've seen in this world." she sighed. "I miss my home so much…Ellesméra was basically a huge forest, with trees so giant three adult dragons couldn't reach around the smallest. Dragons were a fairly common sight before Galbatorix came to power. I'll tell you about him, too. But first, Ellesméra. The biggest tree was the Menoa Tree—right in the middle of Ellesméra. There's a legend about it, but that's for another day. There were springs and rivers with water that was clearer than the air here, and we could drink straight from them. Everything was clean and pure. We lived in the trees—we used our magic to sing them into houses." she stared into space wistfully. "There weren't many children in the village, as the elves and other families rarely had children. I had one friend, another moon-fairy named Mina. We would often spend whole days just fooling around. Sometimes we would fly to the see and hunt for treasure as serpents. Yes, we could shape shift." Akira almost giggled at the astonished expression on Atem's face. "Some days we would spend hours meditating in the quiet forest spots Mina found. Our way of meditating is different than here. We could use our magic to reach out and connect with the minds of all living creatures around us. It was amazing, feeling the hum of life all around us, living the lives of everything. Oh, and about my family." her voice had a sting of longing that went to Atem's heart. "I was very close to my mother. While my father and sister went hunting—they couldn't stand our vegetarian lifestyle—my mother and I would tend the gardens and gather nuts and berries. I was never very close to my father. He never really liked me. I spent around 200 years making beautiful things with magic and nature, but no matter what I showed him, I was either ignored of scorned." she signed again. "He adored my sister. She was—and still it—everything he could want in a daughter. Powerful, merciless, commanding. And she had dark powers—exactly the opposite of mine. She is his pride and joy. He can't stand me, though. He will make sure I am not killed, but other than that I am not worth his time." Atem cut her off. "I can't feel my fingers." Akira realized she was squeezing his hand too hard. She let go immediately. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Atem!" she gasped. "It's alright. Please go on." Atem said.

"Now, before I tell you the rest, I have to tell you about Galbatorix. He was once a noble Rider, before his dragon was murdered by Urgals. I'd rather not talk about them. They were awful creatures. Galbatorix went to the Council of Dragon Riders to beg for another dragon. The council refused. In his grief and rage, Galbatorix destroyed all the others—except one—a black dragon named Shruikan. Shruikan was placed under a dark possession spell and forced to accept Galbatorix as his Rider. This pair, along with the Forsworn, took over Alagaësia, with Shruikan and Galbatorix as its tyrants. A war between the tyrants and the rebels has been going on for the past hundred or so years. This is what led to that day fifteen years ago. Mina and I were meditating by the Watching Pool—that was a favorite scrying place—so we didn't hear the commotion until it was too late. We ran to the edge of the village and saw them, destroying everything in sight. I remember the fire, and the screaming and the sounds of swords clashing together. And," she paused, "my mother dead in my father's arms. Mina was captured by the armies, but my father held me back when I tried to help her. I still remember the rage in his eyes when he opened the portal and sent me through.The portal looked exactly like that light you came from. I wonder if it wasn't the same thing." she smiled warmly. "But it wasn't bad. I got to meet some cool people, see some new things, make new memories. I miss Ellesméra, and my mother and Mina, but I have to make the best out of my situation." she wiped a tear off Atem's cheek. "And I hope you can too." Ryuu cam back from the kitchen and handed Atem a glass of water. "Feeling better?" she asked him. He drank the water very quickly and replied, "Yes. Thank you." Akira looked out the widow and saw that the sun was nearly down. "It's getting late. Ryuu, you need to go home. I'll set up the guest bedroom so Atem can get some decent sleep." Ryuu glanced at Atem and asked, "Can I come back tomorrow?" "Yeah, sure." Akira replied. "Okay! Bye Atem!" Ryuu called as she opened the door. "See you guys tomorrow!"

As Atem lay down on the bed in the small room Akira showed him, he thought about what had happened that day, half hoping it was a dream—and half hoping that it wasn't—and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Atem awoke the next morning and looked around at the unfamiliar room, wondering where he was. Then he remembered. He sat up and sighed. It wasn't a dream. He was really here. The sun was streaming through the windows. _It must be around noon_, he thought. He got up and walked back to the couch. He would wait until Akira could show him around the house so he wouldn't get lost. Akira poked her head around the kitchen doorway. She was human again.

"Good morning, sunshine! The Earth says hello!" she said cheerfully. "Do you want breakfast?" Atem smiled. "Yes, thank you." He was starting to like Akira. "Is Mister Sleepyhead awake?" Ryuu's voice came from the kitchen. She came around the corner. "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, I did." Atem smiled again. "I see you're feeling better!" Akira put a plate of food on the table in front of Atem. "Sorry about the room—it's probably nowhere near as big as what you had in Egypt ." "Oh, it's all right. Thank you for letting me stay here." Atem said.

"Akira, maybe we should show him around." Ryuu said. "Oh, yeah, we should. I'll saddle some horses. You can ride, right?" she asked Atem. He nodded. "I had a lot of horses back home." He stood up. "Let's go!"

Outside, Akira, Ryuu, and Atem sat in the saddles of three horses. Akira rode Ghost, Ryuu rode a bay gelding named Firefox, and Atem rode a buckskin mare called Sweet Melody. Akira clucked to Ghost and the group moved ahead. Soon Atem could make his way around the farm by himself. He marveled at all the conveniences of this time, and all the native plants that had been considered exotic in Egypt . He was especially surprised by the amount of water here. Back home, water had been a precious resource. Now he could have water whenever he needed it, and even when he didn't. It was a miracle to him.

Akira and Ryuu trotted over to him. "Want to race the horses?" Ryuu asked. Atem smiled. "I thought you'd never ask!" They aligned their horses. "First one to that tree, around it and back wins." Akira pointed to a large oak at the far side of the farm. Ryuu started the countdown. "Ready, set, GO!"

There was a rush of the wind and a pounding of hooves as the horses and riders surged forward. Ryuu took the lead, with Atem in second place and Akira last. It seemed as if Ryuu would win when Akira nudged Ghost into a full gallop. They flew in front and left the other two behind. Atem urged Sweet Melody to go faster, and slowly they caught up with Akira and Ghost. Both of them fought for the lead, and they turned around the tree and raced on for the finish. "You're a really great rider, Atem-kun!" Akira said, breathless. "You too!" Atem panted back. Neither could get the lead, and in a few seconds they raced across the finish line as one.


End file.
